Flaws
by yashendra2797
Summary: Alex Rider. International spy and all round hero. Oh did I mention he's only 15? In his most daring mission yet, Alex Rider encounters the one thing he hates the most-school. Find out what happens after Scorpia Rising! SPOILERS! Read and Review! Rated T for swearing.
1. Prologue

Alright guys. yashendra2797 here. Wait a minute. Now I know how you must be feeling. No, I don't? Umm. Well you have to realize something guys. Studies have been real hard, and I am posting this at the heyday of my exams. (Don't say I never did anything for you guys!) But don't worry, this story is complete and the sequel (yes there's a sequel!) will be complete by January (read February). This story, titled 'Flaws' after the Bastille song, is the first in a series, that's different from the other series out there. What I wish is that Flaws will lead into a more expansive universe that will include one-shots, sequel Alex Rider stories and sequel crossovers. So Flaws will initially have two _different and independent_ sequels. The first will be a standard Alex Rider story, the second will be a rewrite of 'The Wounded Teen' (Alex Rider/Doctor Who) with a better name. But both will be independent of each other, sharing only their origin, ie. this story. As this story is complete and typed, I will be updating weekly.

So regarding TWT. I just checked the last date on which it was updated. It is July 2012! DAMN! I'm really sorry about that guys, but see the thing was that I wrote and completed it on paper. I then finished typing it on my _seriously_ dysfunctional laptop. Which crashed. Therefore, I lost the will to type it again... Anyway. I learned my lesson. Now I'm using Dropbox. But you don't want to hear me rambling do you? On with the story-

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**Flaws**

**Prologue**

"_We're really sorry Alex..."_

"_We should have known..."_

"_What should we do now..._

"_At least SCORPIA is dead..."_

Alex heard their pitiful excuses, although his brain barely processed them. He was sitting in the chair at Mrs. Jones's room at Royal and General Bank lost in his own thoughts and meandering in the feelings that he had kept bottled up inside. Until he could cork it no more. "Who gives a shit! Jack's dead all because of me. It was I who took her to Egypt. I who let us get caught and I who let her down at the end. She trusted me, depended on me and I LET HER DOWN!"

If Mrs. Jones looked surprised, she didn't show it. Instead, she looked towards her receptionist cum assistant and said- "Get me Joe Byrne on the line". Then, she nodded towards her second in command who left the room. She the turned over to Alex and said- "I don't have to tell you how sorry I am about this snafu. Believe me, if we had known about what SCORPIA planned for you we wouldn't have even thought to send you there. Obviously, given the diplomatic issues concerned..."

Alex scoffed. "After all that has happened, all you are worried about are the _diplomatic issues_? When the fuck will it ever get through to your head that you guys just screw things up. Every time you have came into my life, you have fucked it up bit by bit. Well now are you happy? You have officially and diplomatically screwed up my life and fucked every single piece of it."

This time Mrs. Jones was taken aback. She had seen the teen's eyes when he had come in. They were cold and dark. Brutal like the eyes that had seen too much. She hadn't seen the complete mission report but her assistant had given her the mission briefing that contained a one page gist of the entire mission. The entire mission read like a Robert Ludlum novel with elaborate conspiracies and attack after attack from both sides. But the one thing that stood out in the brief was that Alex had shot someone. And if that wasn't bad enough, the person he had shot was a boy that looked exactly like him. It was now, that the entirety of the situation that struck her. For the first time in her career she felt at a loss for words. Fortunately, she was saved out of talking further with Alex when her assistant's voice came up on the intercom-"Mr. Byrne is waiting for you on line 4. Need anything else ma'am?"

"No, thanks Martha." she replied and pressed a button on the telephone.

Alex sat calmly in his chair, a sharp contrast to his earlier demeanor. He caught brief stitches of conversation through his trained ears.

"Hey Joe, how are you doing?"

"Same old. I assume that... ...call has to do with Alex?"

"You didn't become head of SO without your deductive abilities."

"How's he doing?"

"Not bad considering..."

"Yeah. So what... ...need?"

"I believe Alex has a friend in San Francisco. Sabrina was it?"

"You keep away from Sabina!" shouted Alex his cheeks puffing up in rage.

"Oh we don't mean her any harm Alex." said Mrs. Jones. "I was wondering if you would like to move over to SF with the Pleasures. If it's fine by Mr. Byrne, of course"

Alex was completely surprised. However he instantly recovered and shot back- "Why? So that you get another bargaining chip for when you want to use me again?"

"No Alex. I am giving you a chance. To leave it all behind. To start anew."

Alex paused and thought about it for a moment. Then he said- "OK. I will agree to this. But I have two conditions."

"Which are?"

"One, I want protection. Not just for me, but even for the Pleasures."

"That can be arranged. And?"

"I want a document, signed by the PM and you that neither you or any of your partner agencies will ever try to recruit me again."

"That will be difficult. But I can twist a few arms and pull in a favor or two."

Alex nodded. Mrs. Jones went back to talking to Joe Byrne. Alex droned off, lost in his thoughts. However the one question that was on his mind persisting him was-_ 'Will they ever leave me alone?'_

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**Hope you liked the prologue! Review!**

_**-Yashendra Shukla**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**Hey, everyone! yashendra2797 here. Now I said that I would be updating weekly, so I am really sorry that I forgot to update yesterday. Honestly, I forgot and only remembered when I came back from school today. I was really happy and surprised to see 3 reviews! I honestly didn't expect even one. Thanks a lot! These are the response for the anonymous reviews:**_

_**mw: Thanks, mate! Here's the next chapter (technically Chapter 1!)**_

_**Olivia: Oh man! Thanks a lot for your kind words!**_

_**So, without (much) delay, here's Chapter 1!**_

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**Flaws**

**Chapter 1**

"_Mr Pleasure, would you like something to drink?"_

"_...Mr. Pleasure?"_

"_Sir?"_

"HUH? Wh... What?" said Alex when he was jolted out of his silence with a tap at his shoulders. He fought the urge to lash out and asked for a Diet Coke. He had to start using his new name now. He took the drink and looked up to take it. He saw the stewardess' eyes widen in shock, but through her professional training, immediately covered it up. Though Alex noticed it, he didn't react. Things like this didn't bother him at all now. He thought about it for a moment. Thought about his appearance, how he looked. His face lined with scars, dark circles under his eyes. And of course, there were his eyes themselves. Completely cold and dark, they were what many people would refer to as eyes 'that had seen too much'. And they wouldn't be wrong. After all that had happened, Alex knew that he should be glad that he was at least alive. _'But what's the point of being alive when you have no one to live for?' _A voice in his mind questioned. He wiped his mind free of all questioning by taking in a long gulp of his Diet Coke.

He was woken up again out of his very light sleep by the pilot announcing over the intercom announcing that they would be landing shortly. He pulled himself up from the comfortable couch that is First Class and cricked his neck. Then he looked out of his window. The San Francisco International Airport was barely visible, but it looked beautiful in the night sky. Lit up by hundreds of tiny lights, it was a sight to behold. A few moments later Alex sighed and looked on the other side to his new foster father Edward Pleasure. Edward looked lost in his thoughts and Alex suspected that most of these thoughts centered around him.

CRASH!

Alex jolted and nearly attacked someone, until he realized that the sound was made by the plane landing. Still, he made sure he was in no danger and let his hands down from the defensive position he had taken.

"_Alright folks, we have landed at SFA. The temperature outside is..."_

Edward Pleasure had seen many things in his life as a now ex-war journalist. During his career, he had met many soldiers with cold, blank and empty eyes. It was the major reason due to which he had changed his career and now covered only snobbish celebrities. But he had never seen a person so broken down, so out of sync with reality, let alone finding such a person in his daughter's boyfriend whom he owed his entire life to. Alex was now a far cry from the carefree, relaxed person he had met during the past year. Taking his bags in his hand from the conveyor belt, Edward made a pledge to himself he would try as hard as he could to make Alex normal again.

"You ready Alex?" asked Edward after he noticed that Alex had picked up his bags too. Alex nodded and a few minutes later he stepped into the warm San Francisco-an air. Not even a few seconds had passed when Alex felt as if the weight of the entire world had attacked him head on. He calmed down, resisted the urge to fight back and tried to normalize himself when he realized that it was none other than Sabina. However, Sabina as usual noticed something wrong with her boyfriend.

"Alex, are you all right?" asked Sabina a little worried. When Alex didn't respond and continued staring at her with no emotion. The reality of Alex being a spy hit her head on. She finally realized that being a spy was not like James Bond, all dashing around and picking women up and stuff. It was a dark reality. A truth that most people knew but chose not to be bothered with anyway.

"Come on Al. Let's go home."

Alex nodded and put his bags in the boot. _No. It's Trunk._ He corrected himself mentally and sat in the car.

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Meanwhile, unknown to him someone was already observing him from the minute he had set his foot on American soil. _Scorpia never forgives. Scorpia never forgets._

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**Read and Review! PLEASE!**

_**-Yashendra Shukla**_


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